About Left Write Hook
WRITING. BOXING. COMMUNITY.
Left Write Hook is a world-first research-informed program combining trauma-aware writing with non-contact boxing.
Led by lived/living experience, our 8-week program supports survivors of childhood sexual abuse and gendered violence to use both body and voice to rebuild strength and purpose.
Our why
Left Write Hook was founded to meet the urgent need for trauma-informed recovery pathways for victim-survivors.
Grounded in evidence and lived experience, our programs combine creativity, movement, and peer leadership to help survivors reclaim power, rebuild resilience, and reconnect in community.
This is more than recovery – it's rewriting what’s possible.
Who we serve
Left Write Hook supports adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and gendered violence.
Our programs are designed for female and gender diverse people aged 18+.
We know trauma affects people of all backgrounds, cultures and identities.
Our programs are inclusive, culturally responsive and trauma-informed, creating safe, peer-led spaces for healing and connection.
Mission
To transform trauma through writing, boxing, and peer-led community.
Vision
Every survivor of childhood sexual abuse and gendered violence has a right to thrive.
Values
Creativity: Foster innovative approaches to healing and empowerment through self expression.
Movement: Integrate body-based practices that promote physical and emotional wellbeing, in recognition of the body’s role in storing and healing trauma.
Community: Build a supportive, inclusive environment that prioritises connection, understanding and shared experiences.
Empowerment: Enable survivors to regain agency, confidence, and strength that they can apply beyond their healing journeys.
Donna’s story
I created Left Write Hook to empower other survivors to thrive into the future; by reclaiming themselves and their bodies, and having an opportunity to rewrite their stories.
I didn’t remember the abuse until my mid-20s. When the memories returned, they shattered me. In that rock bottom, I found healing in two unexpected places: boxing and writing.
That’s how Left Write Hook began – not as a charity, but as survival.
What started as a grassroots workshop has grown into a book, a film, a formal research trial and now a national, survivor-led movement.
Today, we help people reclaim their bodies, rewrite their stories, and release their trauma.
We amplify survivor voices, upskill and employ those with lived experience, and show what’s possible when healing meets purpose.
The story so far
Left Write Hook began in 2019 when Dr Donna Lyon started a small grassroots program at her local boxing gym in Ferntree Gully, Victoria. She wanted to connect with other survivors and find a way to release and express trauma through writing and boxing.
In 2020, Donna teamed up with researchers from the University of Melbourne to explore the impact of the program. Early research demonstrated that participating in Left Write Hook results in a decrease in depression, anxiety, stress and other symptoms of complex PTSD and an increase in social, emotional and psychological wellbeing.
The first book of participant writing was published in 2021, and production began on a feature documentary.
In 2022, Left Write Hook became a registered charity and started running community programs for survivors.
By 2023, the program had grown. More facilitators were trained, and the structure of the workshops was formalised so they could reach more people safely and consistently.
In 2024, the Left Write Hook documentary premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival, winning multiple awards before finding a permanent home on Netflix. A large-scale Randomised Control Trial with the University of Melbourne also began.
Now, in 2025, the movement continues to grow. Left Write Hook delivers trauma-informed community programs, runs facilitator training, and is completing its research trial. More than 700 people have joined our waitlist.
What started in one local gym has become a national movement — helping survivors find strength, voice and connection across Australia.
PUBLICATIONS
-
FY24-25 Annual Report
This has been the biggest year in Left Write Hook’s short history.
-
FY23-24 Annual Report
Pilot research results, participant testimonials, governance update, and more.